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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pound · land · kick · prune · lean · fall · dip · mark

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. prune — to trim
  6. land — ground
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. kick — in football
  10. land — to come down
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — to drop
  15. lean — thin
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. lean — to bend
  18. land — a country
  19. pound — a weight
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. dip — to sink
  22. mark — a grade
  23. fall — the season
  24. mark — a trace

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com